Over the weekend all pretense of holding to the Tuesday embargo for reviews of GO SET A WATCHMAN evaporated. Michiko Kakutani went first late Friday, revealing in her NYT review (which essentially doubled as breaking news) that Harper Lee’s original novel — out of which resulted TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD — presents an older, infirm Atticus Finch espousing racist, segregationist views and going to “at least one KKK meeting.” At the same time, it appeared the WSJ’s “pre-publication marketing campaign” included an essay from Lee’s “estate trustee, lawyer, and friend” Tonja B. Carter, who claims to tell the “full story, […]
